Marriage of taste buds

Husband, wife owners of South River's La Tavola Cucina make it work

3:42 PM,
Mar. 27, 2013

South River - The bruschetta made with seasoned ricotta cheese, slow roasted tomatoes, and arugula. Steve and Jill Sullivan run La Tavola Cucina in South River. Images made on Thursday, March 14, 2013. (Photo by Augusto F. Menezes/Staff) METRO. B697666627Z.1

Written by

Michelle H. Daino
| For the Home News Tribune

The image of husband-and-wife restaurant owners at each others' throats has become all too familiar on television shows like Bravo's "Restaurant: Impossible" or Fox's "Kitchen Nightmares." Deliciously enough, however, Jill (Rafano) Sullivan and Steve Sullivan, the owners of La Tavola Cucina (kitchen table) in South River, have managed to stir things up successfully.

"A lot of customers will say to us that they don't know if they could work with their husband or wife or they say they would probably be divorced by now," said Jill Sullivan. "But we both know what we're good at. We respect each ...